Soul & Ego Shaking, Blur Between Daydreams & Awakening
by Luster Shady
Summary: Lelouch Lamperouge was living a cushy life in England, until he suddenly decides to go to Japan where his mother was born, many years after her passing. He ends up entangled in events he would never have expected though.
1. Hello, Japan

Lelouch Lamperouge had always lived his life as an only child. His father Charles was a distant man, head of a wealthy international corporation while his mother, Marianne passed away when he was the tender age of four.

He lived in a wealthy mansion in some obscure part of Britain, away from the nosy reporters and the ever annoying Paparazzi, surrounded by Mother Nature's verdant fields and forest which made great hunting and riding grounds.

There were many who would do anything to lead a life like his but to Lelouch it was the epitome of boredom. People outside of his family didn't even know his mother had given birth to him before she passed away, many of them learning of his existence at her solemn funeral.

He spent his days being privately tutored by teachers who knew more on how to praise him and his father than teach him, though the praise was not all undeserved. By the time he was thirteen Lelouch was on par with university students in terms of academics. He also had a startling amount of interest in chess in which he was self taught and undefeated, though his debut matches with the old people in parks had been extremely close.

But he learned. Lelouch was not ignorant of how easy he had life and he always strove to make his days count, a task which became increasingly difficult as he grew up.

He read books, classics, always had a go at chess when he was out in any city in any country he chose to visit on his will.

His mother had been the head of a daycare in Japan, a foreigner who had been raised in a Japanese orphanage. How she could love a man like his father, Lelouch would never know but he had no one to visit since his mother had no family. His father's blue-blooded relatives were amusing in the way how they thought the world revolved around those with money but Lelouch never could have a decent conversation with them.

Marianne had been an outcast when she was alive because of her heritage or rather lack of and Lelouch was no exception. Of course they told him he had his father's blood in his veins to his face with fake smiles but he knew better to trust them when his back was turned.

On his seventeenth birthday, Lelouch had had enough of his simpering aunts and obedient uncles with their dreaded children born to test his patience with their friendships and attempts at romance (from the girls of course).

The birthday cake he himself had baked brazenly stated him as 'Lelouch _Lamperouge_' with his mothers' maiden name instead of the one his father and all of his side of the family shared

It was a blatant act of rebellion Lelouch had pulled without thinking of what his father, who on the ghost of chance actually attended the party, would say.

But if anything, the man's mouth was twitching. It was, Lelouch thought in anger with the way Charles treated him like he had nothing to do with his only son. On the contrary, his father commended his bravery to not put up with false allies, be they family (he was not really ignorant of those who tried to sway his only child), enough forgive this act of insolence. Not that he ever deemed Lelouch worthy of being told and left him feeling he was going to be shot from sniper somewhere.

The only child of a wealthy man who had not remarried, once recognized by his peers when he decided to try a high school in London as the only scion of the owner of _The Britannica Enterprise_, Lelouch had no desire to continue his studies in his homeland and cancelled his admission weeks after said birthday.

A few years ago the apocalypse virus had broken out in Japan, a mystifyingly terrible disease due to which Lelouch had been unable to visit. But then a news channel aired a segment the next day Lelouch had spent at home about the improving situation in Japan thanks to the U.N.O.'s foreign aid.

"The formation of GHQ, formed by the U.N. has helped in rebuilding settlements and providing security to the still vulnerable state of Japan and will still continue to do so until the economy of Japan has stabilized." The newscaster said and the station switched to pictures of modern day Tokyo and other main cities along with coverage of those areas when the apocalypse virus had been prevalent.

And that was all it took for Lelouch to ring up his father, who surprisingly answered himself on the rare occasion of Lelouch contacting him himself.

"I want to go to Japan." Lelouch bit the bullet.

"Whatever for?" Charles inquired.

"For high school. Like the ones where mom was taught."

"You don't need school. You should start helping me with work." Charles said. He was a man of power unwilling to share it even with his family; no doubt his words caused a surprise to Lelouch. What had caused him to say such a thing?

"I have next to no social relations." Said Lelouch, hoping to decline swiftly without any backlash but his father caught on.

"Saying no then? You have nerve, boy." And Lelouch cringed. Whenever it came to his life decisions, Charles held the fact that it was he who was sustaining his life and whims over his head.

"If you want to make friends, fine to me. I'll let you go. Get ready soon." And the call disconnected leaving Lelouch to wonder just what happened. He had never even been able to choose what subjects he was going to study yet his father had conceded to let him study in a country of his choice at least.

Tennozu High had an online registration site where Lelouch promptly filled his forms in the evening. His father came home later that night, a cheque-book in his hands.

"You'll have to prove yourself from now on." Charles handed it to him. It had a plain black, rectangular cover, filled with empty cheques. The shocking part was the name written on the other side.

It had said 'Lelouch Lamperouge.' The boy in question was quiet for a moment before he began walked away to pack his bags without a word of thanks to cover up his confusion.

Had he been disclaimed as a son or recognized as his own person? Upon contemplation it became apparent that his father did not want decide on an heir just because they have always, he wanted the best, fittest person to inherit his company. Lelouch had just joined the running to do so, if the name he chose for himself was also the name chosen for his personal assets any proof.

Lelouch had no desire to do so. He was perfectly capable of living by himself without any servants. He preferred a more simplistic lifestyle compared what he had been offered.

Lelouch could earn by himself too, either through gambling or with his computer skills. In order to get into high profile clubs and casinos to obtain access to high rollers Lelouch had acquired a quite the skill when it came to hacking. As he boarded his flight to Japan, he had no doubt he would live without his father's help.

It was a clear night with only a few clouds, the full moon visible as Lelouch stepped outside the airport in Japan, lugging small suitcase behind him.

Lelouch Lamperouge was seventeen years old. He had tall, slim build and handsome foreign features, his skin fairer than the Japanese natives. His eyes were his most charming feature, violet in color. His hair was long but neat, kept above the collar of his shirt while his bangs covered most of his forehead almost all the time.

He wore a white shirt, the collar loosened and sleeves folded upwards, evidently wrinkled from being worn throughout the day and were not even properly tucked in his black pants.

All was still, except for the cool wind and the light sky, littered with twinkling stars above Tokyo city. The decrease in pollution was remarkable.

Hailing a taxi Lelouch directed the driver towards Skyrise Hotel, a luxurious project launched by GHQ for foreigners, in fluent Japanese, a language he learned as an ode to his mother's native tongue.

The building was thirty stories tall, and Lelouch's abode was at the very top. The royal suite was enormous. It consisted of two bedrooms, a terrace and a lounge, a fridge that had drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and branded foods from around the world.

When he arrived, there was a huge basket of fruits and a tray of assorted chocolates on the expensive wooden table in the lounge. Sliding glass windows opened to the terrace and gave a breathtaking view of the city with its many skyscrapers.

The teen unpacked his belongings and made himself at home. Upon his instructions no hotel personnel had tried to come in and see him adjusted, leaving him totally alone.

Lelouch's retro flip-phone beeped, a specific tone reserved for receiving emails. It was his acceptance letter from Tennozu High and they requested him to start school as soon as possible since it was already on and he was a week late.

Tomorrow was a Sunday so he would have time to go out and buy a uniform for his new school. Opening his laptop, Lelouch busied himself with online chess. He was playing black; he always did.

His opponents stood no chance as Lelouch managed to checkmate them before they could even check him. As it was he was barely spending more than five to ten minutes per match, his difficulty set at "Master" which meant a maximum of 15 seconds per turn.

The prodigy made his opponents forget about some piece on the board until some turns later he sprung the trap with such elaborate planning that he had a counter for every counter possible and even those would eventually give Lelouch victory.

He had the rare foresight to predict the many results that the board could produce within the following turns and could manipulate the flow of the game to his liking.

-Would you like to accept a challenge from Triton?-

The screen said after Lelouch was finished with another boring match.

'_Interesting name._' Lelouch thought and accepted. The game began.

Triton started slowly, moving a knight on the first turn. Lelouch made a strange move and moved a pawn from the front of his king. The other player, perhaps thinking that Lelouch had made an amateur move played the next few moves without much caution and soon found himself in a tricky situation.

Triton thought he had dealt a good blow when he took out a black knight with a white pawn, he thought he had forced Lelouch to leave his knight like that. But soon he realized that his opponent was anything but careless and hurried to save his queen from the impending doom he could see on the board.

Triton should have been more cautious, but perhaps it was his own protective stance of his queen that allowed Lelouch strike his main piece down. Lelouch claimed his white queen by moving a black bishop from one end of the board to another diagonally.

But Triton used the next turn to put his opponent's king in check. From there on Lelouch kept his king moving, making it hard to trap him, until, finally, he was just three blocks away from Triton's own king.

Triton fought on total defense then, but then he realized he had already lost. He had been too dependent on the queen for his plans. Now his King was trapped between a rook, two pawns and the last of his escape cut off by the black king, just a square away.

If Triton made one move to avoid the rook and pawns that held him from moving forward or to the side, the only option was to advance diagonally, right in front of the black king and forcing checkmate himself.

Nor could he take out a piece to break free of the amazing formation that only a true master could make. Surely it was someone beyond hi

-Checkmate. Zero wins-

The screen read the victors' player name, making obvious what had been apparent to both the players for some time already. Triton had played well. Had they been across each other Lelouch would have praised him.

Such a satisfying match that was rare to find. Triton logged off without any comment on a rematch. Lelouch did not want to spoil his victory by proceeding with another inferior match and turned in for the night.

The first thing Lelouch had to do next morning was head over to the principals' office early in the morning. He took care to change from his outside shoes into indoor ones after finding his shoe-locker from the information he received in his the elderly Principal Takagi was absent and instead he was greeted with the sight of a tall, blonde girl going through a thin file inside a very typical headmasters' office.

"**Good morning**." Lelouch greeted in English as he walked in, confidence bleeding off him as he smiled charmingly.

"**Good morning. I'm Kohouin Arisa, your student council president. The headmaster informed of your transfer to me last night. Due to his medical circumstances though, he isn't here today.**

"**I'm not sure how they do things back in Britain for private schools, but here there is a morning assembly daily and I expect you to be on time, Mr. Lamperouge.**" Her manner betrayed a no-nonsense attitude. Her posture stiff, her gaze harsh and she did not falter with her English like most. She was the image of aristocracy in Lelouch's mind.

"Of course Ms. President. I look forward to it." Lelouch switched to his fluent Japanese; he had been slightly nervous to use it before. A look of surprise decorated her face for a brief moment before Arisa composed herself again. A transfer student fluent in the language just one day after arriving in Japan? Little did she know Lelouch had learned the language when he was young and had only taken a crash-course for revision before coming to Japan. She'd have to look into it.

Placing his file on the desk Arisa walked past him and he followed her out of the office towards the gymnasium. He noticed student activity around him in the school corridor they were traversing, but in the opposite direction from the rest.

"Excuse me, isn't the assembly the other way?" Lelouch asked at last.

"Oh, I'm taking you through the backstage so you can introduce yourself in the morning assembly. It will help to break the ice with the whole school. Don't worry, nearly one-third of the student body comprises of students from overseas. Just say your name, a hobby you have and your favourite food." The blond said with a small smirk.

Lelouch gulped slightly before composing himself. All he had to do was say his name, a little '_Yoroshiku_' and be done with it. He had brushed up on Japanese etiquette and figured he would have to bow slightly too, never mind the fact that oversea students which Kohouin had talked about came from prestigious and wealthy backgrounds from around the globe.

'_Calm down, they are just ordinary students. Your father is not going to run you over if you just bow in front of them._'

Maybe he shouldn't have hacked into the school database after hearing rumors of the high foreigner count. Sure, he'd confirmed the figures that about thirty percent were students from abroad but among them had been a few names he heard only in the company of his fathers' meetings he would attend occasionally to alleviate boredom.

He preferred to meet people in person so that they could make their own impression before running through their backgrounds but his curiosity had gotten the better of him. Was he mentally punishing himself for betraying his own principles?

Was that it? Had been sent to Japan to be humbled, or to test how much pride of Charles he would carry? As he waited backstage he awaited Arisa's dreaded announcement.

"Now, on to matters of a different subject, we have a transfer student from Ashford Academy in London. Please, come on out."

The student council president conducting the ceremony took a few steps back from the podium and smiled encouragingly as Lelouch entered, walking with a natural pace, feeling the gaze of five hundred students on him.

Breathing in prior to standing before the microphone to avoid the slight sign of nervousness being transmitted, Lelouch turned to the crowd covering half of the spacious hall. He had never given an address as public as this.

"Good morning, my fellow students." Lelouch spoke a bit too melodramatically and winced as he paused automatically, like he was age-old character in one of the many profound novels he had read, like a leader or a ruler addressing his subjects, which were in this case the common masses.

He gave no thought to the confusion visibly present on the faces of his peers, attributing it to the way he was speaking before continuing.

"My name is Lelouch Lamperouge. My favourite past time is playing chess. I look forward to studying with you all. Please take care of me." And with his back still straight he tilted forward slightly, enough to accomplish his purpose and not touch the microphone with his face.

A collective gasp ran out through the hall and Lelouch looked up only to see the confused faces of the students openly gaping at him. A quick glance and the foreigners seemed _mortified_ even.

'_Just what did I do?_' He wanted an answer to that question as he stepped down and Arisa concluded the morning assembly, trying not smile. She was sure she would crack her face if she did.

As the assembly dispersed Arisa again led Lelouch towards his class room, 2-C. He did not get a chance to question the students' behavior because Kohouin was quickly going over their study system, what was frowned upon and what was not in front of teachers to even let him interject.

"It's important that you attend homeroom first Lelouch. When it's lunch break please come to me in the student council room. I will be waiting."

"What ever for?" He finally raised a question as they reached their destination.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." She slid the door to his classroom open, ceasing all activity within the room. It was suddenly too quiet to question her further and Lelouch stepped in. The Japanese students were looking at him, somewhat in awe while the foreigners, seated in the back seemed downright cold, glaring at him.

He settled for taking a seat at the back in the opposite to the door and nearer to the windows. The student who sat beside him next to the window was had light brown hair with a slight blond streak on one side. The boy seemed lost in his own thoughts, but glanced in Lelouch's direction once, looking too shy to make eye-contact.

Their homeroom teacher entered and the class representative promptly announced, "Rise!" Lelouch stood up swiftly like nearly everyone else and that was when he realized the heart of the problem. Everyone who was not Japanese was either not standing properly, stifling a yawn or exchanging whispers with the person next to them or sitting in such a blatant show of disrespect that it was not even funny and the teacher made his way to the centre of the board.

"Bow!" Commanded and class rep next Lelouch followed along with the disciplined, respectful students. He peeked at the teacher and met his dumbfounded gaze, not knowing why he was being so much looked at.

"Sit!" And at last they were allowed to take their seats.

"Well then class, I'll be taking your attendance now. New student, take note to remember the name of your classmates, we're all like family in here." The teacher announced and began the roll call, Lelouch doing his best to record everyone's name.

The first period was maths, one of his favourite subjects. He focused solely on the teacher but couldn't help but feel there was a strange atmosphere in the classroom. There was a strange dichotomy present between people of different nationalities to which he felt was more to than that which met the eye.

After maths, Lelouch discovered that there were ten free minutes between each period for the students to unwind. While he expected his classmates to chatter away, everything was deathly still as a single boy rose in the classroom and made his way towards him.

His uniform was messy and out of order, with the tie loose and his shirt not even tucked in his pants. He had shiny brown hair and a hint of freckles on his nose with blue eyes. Lelouch recognized him.

He was none other than Clark Higgins, son of the owner of _GreenAir, _the airlines which had assisted U.N. on discounted rates to help with the transfer of resources, people, and trade cargos. In short, had majorly helped Japan with importing and exporting extraditions despite its crippling economy.

It wasn't until the brunette was looming directly over him did Lelouch recognize him.

"**What the hell do you think you're doing, following these shitty customs?**" Crass words spoken quite haughtily. Lelouch glared back at the use of English.

"**Do you know of respect? I don't think you'd have any either way.**" He shot back, effectively channeling every eye in the room towards him.

"**What respect are you talking about for these beggars? It's because of our funding that they're even existing. You seem new but it was with the help of western scientists which found vaccine to the apocalypse virus and our aid which is keeping this country from collapsing.**"

What the arrogant douche was saying was true, but that did not mean they owned Japan. Seeing Lelouch observing the silent classroom Clark smirked.

"**These spineless idiots don't even understand what we say. Well, except for that bitch of a Student Council president."** He said off-handedly.

"**I could report you for these comments.**" Lelouch said, making an idle threat and wishing he was one of those who couldn't understand the nonsense Clark was spouting.

"**You're threatening me? My father funds this school. Too bad he seems fixated on being an idiot and keep stressing this equality shit when obviously they all are in our debt."**

So that was where his confidence came from. And this was the source of unrest.

Japan's most major cities had suffered at the hands of apocalypse virus which due to its unique nature not only ended human lives reducing the national workforce but also damaged buildings, homes, offices, schools, shops, everything living and non-living factor was affected in its wake.

Whole cities had to be rebuilt, resources provided, human and material to help Japan back up on its feet. Naturally, the country racked up a debt in trillions of dollars increasing the tax on everything.

Taking advantage of the crippling financial situation foreign investors bought huge estates in Japan, built successful businesses and provided money for many huge projects within Japan such as combating the accursed apocalypse virus.

They lived like nobles compared the people to whom the country belonged but it seemed like the foolish teenagers here were severely stepping out of the line. Lelouch didn't doubt they held any sway over their parents when it came to a show of power as with most rich families, and wondered if he could afford to make enemies with a certain Higgins family for the words he was about to say. '_Ah, the troubles of being rich._'

"**You call them beggars yet the education-wise the Japanese outrank every other nation. Give it a decade, just because the leadership decided to take loans does not mean Japan has weakened. They've withstood two nuclear attacks. **

**While you say that the west found a cure for the apocalypse virus, the research team consisted of Japanese scientists as well which I might add were the ones who contributed the most as well as made the actual breakthrough. It matters not whose name was on the paper and who took credit for it, facts such as these will never change.**

**And while you think that you can get away with mindlessly insulting people, that money is power going by your mindset then I alone can deal with you. Crass of me, I know, but barking dogs don't bite.**"

Lelouch said and leaned back, making a very amused face which showed he was very pleased and full of himself and rested his face against his hand, not even standing from his seat to lock eyes. The class could practically feel the smugness oozing off him.

Clark Higgins on the other hand had never been so insulted. A blush spread across his face, even the tips of his ears were tinged with red. His hands balled into fists and shook with outrage and he stumbled over words. He wanted to pummel the pretty, arrogant boy before him.

"_**You…How dare you!**_" He snarled at last and reached for Lelouch's collar only to get interrupted by the door being opened by the next teacher. Lelouch thanked his lucky stars inwardly as he gave his would-be assailant a big smile. He had never been one for physical activity which included fighting.

From then on there was a huge change in the classroom, the back seats filled with the constant buzz of whispering and the students in front occasionally looking back to sneak a look at Lelouch while he tried to ignore them and focus on the board.

Before lunch break the teacher called out Lelouch to the board to solve some numerical during physics so that when class ended he was the first student out, walking towards the student council room. With directions from a few students he found it quickly and entered after a polite knock.

Inside consisted of a rectangular table in the middle of the room at the head of which sat Arisa Kohouin. The other seats were empty and paper work littered the desk. Next to walls were several cabinets and a bookshelf. Light shined in from the big, glass windows from behind the student council president.

"Hello Lelouch." Arisa said as she rose and walked around the desk to meet him. She held out her hand to which Lelouch gently shook with his slender one.

"Hello." He greeted politely and said nothing more, waiting for a response.

"I suppose you want me to get to the point then." The blond said mysteriously as she crossed her arms. "This would have required a test of some sort of but I suppose what happened in the morning is testament enough of your true personality, so we don't need to do anything like that."

"You were keeping tabs on me?" Lelouch quirked an eyebrow. This was definitely new.

"Frankly, yes. The thing is that while foreigners live comfortably in Japan, their grades aren't up to the par with our national students when they apply for universities abroad in their homeland. In sports they might excel but not in any area of particular academic expertise.

"That being said, the school chairman Mr. Higgins wanted to make it mandatory that some other students were also allowed into the student council. You've already seen how his son is ruining this school." Arisa said and paused.

"I noticed. Why aren't there any measures being taken against a direct insult to the Japanese culture?"

"You can't exactly force a person to bow and they are careful in front of the teachers with how they treat others. Everyone is different but the bad eggs have too much sway over others, most of them children of corporate leaders who know each other." Arisa paced the windows, looking outside.

"Yes, the problem is that they don't think that we are below them, rather we are indebted to them and should be able to do as they please. There's also complaints from their parents as well. However, the student council president can't remedy this problem on my own. I need a suitable vice president."

"Aren't there elections for this?" Lelouch could see the way this conversation was going.

"Class representatives are voluntary selections while the student council president is selected by the teachers based on overall performance. Rest assured, in our school history we've had many non-Japanese students as presidents but that's it.

The students who know the truth compared to teachers who'd turn a blind eye to outrageous discrimination in fear of their jobs, not that I don't understand but…" She trailed off before snapping back.

"Anyway, I needed a fair candidate for vice president and I'm already impressed by your academic history-" This was where Lelouch interrupted.

"Are students allowed going through someone else's files?" Arisa stopped, but did not look the least bit ashamed.

"It's not every day an overqualified genius applies to a school in another country when he could go to universities like Cambridge, Harvard or Princeton. So tell me, are you up for it?"

"…"

"…"

"I respectfully decline." She blinked one, two times.

"But why? Don't you want to do anything about to change the mindset of these ignorant people? If it's you, they'll actually listen before judging how you look." Lelouch knew who she was talking about.

"They won't change, not until its been proven how horribly, inconceivably wrong they are. And if anyone did do that, they would have to deal with the benefactors who have a firm grip on Japan's market, who can charge them twice for a bottle of water just to show their monarchy. There have been numerous nations who have suffered at the hands of their very own rulers and now Japan has become one of them." Said Lelouch, looking her in the eye.

"You're the only person in the school who the majority will support, I can easily arrange an election." Arisa knew Lelouch was past negotiations now.

"Just let them say what they want, it's not as if they have any power by themselves." Lelouch was shocked to see her slam a hand against the surface of the table.

"You don't know anything…all you know is what the media has said. Any institute, be it educational or political is being severely manipulated. Yet everyone…everyone acts so _blind_."

Discrimination and crime existed in every state. Other than the display that very morning, Lelouch had yet to see just what Arisa was talking about.

"I apologize, but it's only my first day. Give me some time to think." Said Lelouch, giving an apologetic smile that made Arisa rethink the scenario from his perspective.

"How rude of me, I didn't even think you were coming to a school first time after years. Well, I'll contact you after a week. After that I'm simply going to hold an election for the vice president position. You're excused."

Lelouch simply left without a word, somehow feeling drained. He had never expected to be offered such a high position on the first day of school based on his own merit.

He did not leave for the cafeteria; he had always had a small appetite. Instead the boy took the remaining twenty minutes of his break to wander around the school. Lelouch made a note to get someone else to show him around the school too, perhaps get to know people.

From the windows in the corridor he could see a track field in the backyard of the school. Adjacent to it was another rectangular building with a blue roof and tinted windows which he concluded was a swimming pool.

There was also a gym located inside the school building.

The bell rang and quickly he turned, reaching his classroom just in the nick of time. The rest of day was uneventful, the class remaining peaceful even during self-study while Lelouch pondered about Kohouin's proposal.

If his father got word he would push Lelouch to do it, anything to be distinguished within the student body. Sitting behind a desk, taking care of complaints from students, keeping an eye over the various clubs this school had, would it fit well with him?

The bell rang and classes ended, snapping the boy out of his thoughts. He quickly returned for his afternoon classes, hiding his surprise at finding out there was a maths test.

"You don't have to take it Mr. Lamperouge." Said the teacher but Lelouch declined.

"It's okay sensei, I know maths well." Lelouch insisted that he take it anyway. To everyone in the classroom it seemed like Lelouch breathed confidence.

After the test which of just average difficulty, Lelouch found himself being avoided by the students around him. As he walked out by the end of the day, the only thing he had gleaned from his classmates was the whispers behind his back and the occasional, but accidental, eye-contact.

Tennozu High was not just famous for its top-notch facilities but also because of the diversity of its extra-curricular activities. It had all sorts of clubs in it for sports, art and handicrafts, music, and various types of technology.

Lelouch had a brief encounter in the Chess club where the captain of the Tennozu Chess Team faced his most humiliating loss ever. Lelouch smiled politely and offered a few words of encouragement before quickly excusing himself after declining to join.

It was nearing four o'clock when Lelouch had finished checking out all the clubs (some of which he wondered why were even in existence, such as Building Gazing Club) that he came across a unique building located far away from the school building.

It was a two story warehouse, a crumbling old building. The huge metal doors were ajar which Lelouch pushed to make his presence known with omnious and rusty creaks.

Inside the floor was made of aged concrete blocks that stood out at various places and had patches of grass growing between the spaces and cracks. A computer, placed beneath a gallery that could be reached by the two staircases on either side was surrounded by three people one of two of whom Lelouch immediately recognized.

Ouma Shu, the boy who sat next to him and the girl called Hare who he ate lunch with in the cafeteria during break. The third boy was eyeing him with wonder.

"**Oh wow, you're the new guy! Hey, wazzup homie bro!**" Lelouch nearly tripped and face planted at the atrocious English and weird gangster sign movements.

"Souta, he speaks Japanese." Shu sighed.

"Indeed." Lelouch said calmly, a small smile decorating his face. "Lelouch Lamperouge."

"Yosh! I'm Souta, he's Shu, she's Hare and we are… the Film Maker's Club!" Souta half-shouted half-cheered, looking quite pleased at the introduction.

"This quaint building?" the dark-haired teen mused, inspecting roof above for any cracks like the ones that graced the walls and floor.

"It might not look like much and it gets very cold in the winter but it's a sturdy structure, this building." Said Hare, looking at her surroundings fondly.

The tapping of buttons on a keyboard brought everyone's attention to the computer Shu was wrapping up for the day.

"We're working on a project for the Film Maker's club. Sorry, it's a bit classified at the moment." Shu turned around to face the non-member with a small smile.

"I'm good with computers, maybe I'll lend you hand with video editing if I ever decide to join this club." Lelouch said. Hacking was more of his forte, setting up fake ID's to get into casinos and other places he wasn't allowed to.

"Oh, the charismatic and mysterious new student joins the Film Maker's club! We'll be instantly popular!" Souta jumped up.

"What about the other school clubs?" Shu said getting up from his chair and stretching. How many hours had he been sitting there?

"Not interested, but I'm going to have join a club anyway as per the guidelines of this school." Lelouch revealed no further about his dislike of physical exercise and desire to laze around a comfortable couch. If they needed his help he'd be quick to do whatever task they required for a mere school project.

"You seem serious about it." Hare crossed her arms. "Well, you're always welcome here to hang out, even if you don't join."

"Well then, maybe you should join _to_ hang out." The comment caused Hare to elbow Souta in the ribs.

"Sorry about him, he's an idiot." Shu added his two cents before grabbing his school bag from the ground as Souta groaned at the statement and walked towards the aged door, the club members falling in step with him.

As they walked out they discussed the various roles the trio of the Film Maker's club had, barely fulfilling the minimum requirements for the members.

Souta was the on-field camera-man and worked together with Hare for publicity at school events concerning clubs while Shu was the editor who mostly worked behind the scenes. They reached the Tennozu's High's gates and Lelouch parted in the opposite direction, deciding to walk rather than take the subway on his way back from his first proper day to school in a long, long time.


	2. Homework, Concerts and Trains

Hello! *dodges shoes being thrown* Been a while, huh? *nervous laughter* Anyway, without furher ado, read on! (Un-beta-read, pls excuse the any mistakes.)

* * *

It had been a week since he began school. The sun began to rise outside the windows with its rays passing through his windows, piercing through the clouds. He got up sluggishly, a bit uneasy from just four hours of dreamless sleep.

Assignments cluttered his study table which he hadn't bothered to assemble. He had fallen sleep as soon as he hit the bed for rest after finishing all the work he had due prior to entering. Japanese students sure had it hard, he remembered thinking. Since he received his homework he would come back to his suite straight from school and work on it.

There was a lot to cover for him including some work from the first year of high school since he had entered in the second as per his age. Aside from the sciences, Lelouch hadn't taken subjects other students in Japan had which were what caused him the most headaches since he wanted to be done with it already, ruing the worksheets on which he had to write.

Last night he had tackled the easiest of them all, English, and was very amused by some of sentences he had to translate. As he was thinking of some, there was a knock at his door withdrawing him from his reverie.

Breakfast was delivered to his suite since Lelouch never went down into the great dining hall despite the invitations from his neighbors after which the rich scion took to walking like a normal person, his heavy schoolbag being carried on his own shoulders.

This was the life, no chauffeurs in limousines that were hard to maneuver, no one tailing him to make sure he was doing fine. There was an occasional curious glance towards him due to his uniform. Tennozu ranked first in terms of academics in Tokyo after all.

He arrived on time and attended the assembly before taking his seat next to Shu, plopping down with a sigh. Just as Lelouch opened his bag to take out his books and place them within his desk per habit, his assignments slid out as he tilted his bag.

"What's that?" Shu indicated towards the stack of papers, curious.

"My homework." Lelouch gestured nonchalantly towards the thing which caused nightmares to students worldwide.

"You received that the week before." He got up from his seat and began flipping through the pages before shoving them back in. "You were even told to do it over a span of a month; there was no need to rush it! No wonder you didn't show up for the past week." Shu muttered, though he was slightly worried about him not coming to the club.

"But I finished it so that's that." That was also what Lelouch said to teachers in the staff room when he went in to hand his assignments in during break. He was just shutting the door to the staff room behind him when the student council president caught him.

He followed her to the student council room where they were alone.

"You know, some of your assignments included ones students haven't done yet. You completed questions we haven't even reached in our course. Fancy being completely free for the next two weeks…" Arisa sighed in pretence. Then, smiling brightly, "Tell me, why don't you want to be the Vice President? I can choose someone else, but you're obviously the best choice."

Lelouch pondered for a moment, going through everything he had done in one week. He had attended perfectly, been friendly to his peers, made a few friends in his club which he had become a member of next day due to Arisa approving his application, performed horrendously in P.E which was really what made him famous in the entire school.

"It was too sudden. There isn't any reason for me refuse if you honestly believe I'm the best choice compared to having ulterior motives." The blond blushed slightly before regaining herself.

"Now that you put it that way, I understand." She giggled while covering her mouth. "Well then, student council meetings take place on Wednesdays and Fridays, though we all gather here on days besides those. In case of busier events you can be called on Saturdays as well.

"Our job is to make sure the school runs smoothly in alliance with the disciplinary committee, the student council is responsible for organizing events for the students to showcase their talents and other extracurricular activities to enable their growth while the disciplinary committee and class reps ensure the smooth running of such events.

"Our work is mostly paperwork, such as managing the budgets, overlooking the clubs, maintaining the image of our school. Joint events with other schools are the task of the student council as well…"

Arisa explained with a steady enthusiasm and Lelouch soaked up everything like a sponge, not once asking her to repeat or go over some duty again as she went on until the bell rang throughout the school to signify the break had ended.

Arisa went to her desk again for work; the student council president had more some free periods like these in their third year. Lelouch bowed and was about to walk out the door when he paused at the threshold.

"Can I ask one thing, _Kaichou_?"

"I'd prefer just _senpai_ coming from you for now. Go ahead."

"Senpai, isn't the troublesome attitude in students you talked about the job of the disciplinary committee?" Arisa sighed, but did it was not an unexpected question.

"You'll know when you meet them, go to your class." And with that Lelouch turned, not knowing what to feel about taking an order from someone other than his father for the first time in his life. He returned to class and told the news to Shu who congratulated him.

There was another boy talking to Shu before he came and introduced himself as Yahiro, the 'ghost' member of the Film Makers' club who rarely attended due to his part-time job after school. He looked like a quiet person and was seen diligently taking notes whenever Lelouch's eyes drifted to him in the class room.

When the classes ended that evening Hare had an interesting suggestion as they all walked out of the school gates at noon.

"Lamperouge-kun," He didn't flinch at how she mispronounced his name in 'Engrish'. "You haven't really been outside have you? After all you were busy with your homework."

"That is true. So?"

"Then it's decided! Souta-kun, Shu, Lamperouge-kun is coming with us!" Said Hare as she whipped out 4 rectangular pieces of paper and waved them in front of the trio of boys.

"What's that? Show me!" Souta said and quickly snatched them from Hare's hands. Eyes widening, he turned to Shu with a huge grin. "Guess who's going to an EGOIST concert today!"

"Are you serious?!" Shu broke out of thought and took a look at the tickets before his expression matched Souta's own.

"Can I ask who EGOIST is?" Lelouch smiled, unable to take part in their enthusiasm. Within moments the conversation descended into a musical discussion and why EGOIST was the best band ever even though weren't signed to any labels.

"What is the most important part of a song?" Hare asked Lelouch.

"The meaning behind the song." Lelouch answered.

"Somehow I expected you to answer something like that." Souta said, as they descended into a subway station. Earlier he and Hare had messaged their parents while Lelouch and Shu were pretty much free to do as they pleased.

"You're going to like EGOIST very much then." Shu said after a moment. "From the instrumentals to the lyrics, and the vocals, everything is amazing. Their vocalist really brings out the emotions in a song."

"I hope so. I wouldn't want my first ever real outing with friends to be dull."

"EH?!" The other three cried in unison to Lelouch's amusement, thoughts about the poor guy being a loner surfacing in their minds. "Speaking of which, you never really asked about me besides my interests, favorite foods and birthday."

"Chess and cooking! Those are your interests!" Souta beamed with a thumbs up like he was answering a quiz. "Speaking of which I've been asked a couple of times for your bio data along with a few pictures seeing as I'm the photographer for our cl-" Hare elbowed Souta harshly as they reached the subway station.

"I don't particularly mind it, provided you will split the profits fifty-fifty." Lelouch caught on quickly and gave a wry grin, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Lamperouge-kun!" Hare exclaimed, her cheeks reddening while Souta shot back a sly grin at his soon-to-be partner in business and they shared an exaggerated, meant to be secretive handshake.

"Please, just call me Lelouch from now on." He wasn't used to people treating his last name as his first.

"It's okay Hare, girls who pay for such stuff aren't worth dating…I mean…" Shu began but upon noticing his words were being carefully listened to by the other three who had stopped their banter Shu grew immediately shy, ruffling the hair on the back of his head.

"What I, er, mean to say is…"

"Truth be told, you are right. Why don't you join our conversations more, Ouma?" Lelouch agreed as he bought a ticket for the bullet train. He'd have to look into getting a subway pass like his other classmates.

There managed to squeeze into the train and remained quiet throughout the ride, Lelouch still in a slight shock from Souta's description of how crowded the transport could get. The roads on the surface were understandable but it seemed like a lot more people used the subway in Japan than Britain. They got off at Roppongi.

Twilight was near and the nightlife scene was switching on with colorful signs and boards turning up. They weaved their way through the crowds that were there, attracting unwanted attention in their school uniforms.

Compared to other parts of Tokyo there were places that still told stories of the destruction caused by the apocalypse virus, Lelouch observed. In fact Hare was leading them away from the area with lights and cafes to clubs.

The appearance of individuals on the street turned shadier as well and Souta and Shu glanced at Lelouch again and again, motioning him to stay silent and away from the patrolling Anti-Body officers as they snuck into an alley.

"We just have to climb the wall there." Hare whispered softly. Lelouch felt a slight excitement in the back of his mind. Together they glanced around surreptitiously and helped each other climb the brick wall, Shu and Souta coming last since Lelouch wasn't even expected to climb it by himself. His feelings were a little hurt.

The faced a street out of an abandoned ghost town except it was populated by lots of teenagers heading in the same direction, some holding flashlights as there was no sign of electricity, even the street lamps dark. They were soon approached by a man with sharp eyes, his other features obscured by a gaudy black rain-coat with the hood pulled.

He was a little shorter than Lelouch. The boy on the other hand was wondering how he could wear a rain coat on such a hot night in Japan.

"Tickets, otherwise I'm gonna have to throw you all back the way you came." His raspy voice and his yellowed teeth indicated his heavy smoking. Hesitating slightly, Souta stretched his arm, showing the four tickets. The mysterious person took one look at them and without inspecting them in his own hand punched holes with papers with a puncher.

"Follow the crowd." He pointed and went back to lurk from wherever he popped up. The group of students sighed and continued, conversation picking up since they didn't have to be so quiet now. It was a full moon and soon their eyes adjusted to the night.

"Is that it?" Lelouch asked. It was an indie concert and Hare had bought the tickets online as the one of her friends who was familiar with the venue said it would be okay. Amidst the broken buildings and crumbled foundations the sparsely spread sea of people was filing into a department store.

There were small stalls outside selling glow-sticks colored red, white and neon pink. Opposite to it were fast-food and drink stands being handled by people dressed people just as shady as their ticket collector.

"Want to buy anything after the concert?" Souta asked.

"You guys are treating me to food," Hare declared. "I bought the tickets and all." Lelouch felt a slight embarrassment though he didn't know why. He had meant to treat Hare to something but his thoughts being announced by her caused a feeling unknown. No one in his previous social groups acted that way, it was a given that all favors would be repaid and no small debt would be held.

"Well then everyone, the food is all on me." Lelouch said, feeling indeed something new. They moved inside, chatting about EGOIST in order to fill Lelouch in over the crowd that had begun to light their glow-sticks.

The dim lighting went out and a rush of excitement ran out, followed by screams and whistling. One floor above, a spot light swooped in from the roof, passing over the center of the crowd before rising up and halted escalators and stopping over Yuzuriha Inori – In flesh.

She looked stunning in a strapless black dress with a flowing overlay and a slightly contrasting hem. Her lustrous pink hair was styled in waves and tied in a fancy side bun. She stood before a trophy microphone, her eyes closed. Her lips parted, and in a pure, resonant tone,

_There's no way we could ever __  
__Love someone else, but __  
__we want someone to love us_

All the noise died down as the instruments for _All Alone With You_ began in the background. Lelouch was attentive, struck not only by her voice but her vocal skill. Souta and Hare were awestruck.

* * *

Ouma Shu was in a world of his own, a void where no one existed but he and Inori. Only the darkness separated them, yet he could see her in that vibrant light that shone only on her. She was singing only for him, even if he was a just a blur in the sea of people.

Even if he was someone who was failing to live life, had nothing special about him, her words were directed towards him and he believed everything she was telling him.

_You'll never walk alone_

_I'll go with you __  
__No matter your sin, __  
__I'll shoulder it for you __  
__I'll walk __  
__the unpaved paths __  
__All alone with you_

Shu held his breath, drowning in her words. Maybe she was another person behind those lyrics. Maybe she wasn't even half of what he imagined she was. He was delusional, immature and crazy but he was in love with her. There was a slight pause after the song ended, and the audience burst into cheers and applause. People might have found the performance a bit dramatic, but in Shu's words it was divine.

* * *

The group was on their way back on the subway, talking in whispers. It was rude to speak in a conversational volume on the subway in Japan. Not only that, the journey was very smooth. It was perfect for falling asleep and Lelouch dozed off after being slightly sure it was safe enough. The four were sitting together, Souta and Shu on his left and right with Hare next to Shu.

"He must be tired, ne?" Hare spoke. "I used to think that students from other countries aren't hard workers but he is such a workaholic."

"Makes you wonder how smart he actually is. There were some problems in our last term that you couldn't do without a teacher." Souta gazed at the teens' sleeping form, arms folded and legs crossed, head slumped in a way that you'd think he was reading if there was a textbook in front of him; a pose that only a true slacker could master.

"I'm sure you needed a teacher for the problems that didn't even require a teacher, Souta." Shu added with a slight smile that had been fooling people for years.

"Well, I'm not the son of a genius scientist." Souta huffed in exaggeration.

"Sue me, I'm adopted." The statement caused Hare to reach over and pinch Souta hard who just went "Ow! Sorry!"

"We're here anyway." The only girl said as the train stopped. "Lelouch-kun, wake up." She tried to shake him but his eyes fluttered open the moment her hand touched his shoulder.

"I am awake, thank you." Shu couldn't help but notice what a light sleeper he was. Smart and handsome, even if he looked like he wasn't good at sports, Lelouch already had the attention of more than half the female population at school. He wondered if that was the reason why the Student Council President wanted him on the council.

But then, he mentally kicked himself for being jealous as they walked out. Today was the first time Lelouch said he went out with actual friends. Shu might not have been as special as him, but he had plenty of things which were special to Lelouch. Hare brushed against his arm slightly.

"Are you alright, Shu?" Her voice was low to not alert the other two boys discussing camera lenses and why the police did not have small HD cameras like a cell phone to record any crimes they witness or for their jobs to be monitored.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?" Shu smiled slightly. '_She always notices it._' Hare pouted (He had to admit it was cute) and then sighed.

"Just text me if you want anything." Maybe she knew how to make the most beautiful singer in the world fall in love with a pathetic existence that had not even graduated high school.

"Sure. Thank you." Shu listened to the others for a while before subtly entering the conversation. That way, Hare wouldn't expect a message from him when he reached home. If only he had the guts to tell her the things that bothered him, but he couldn't risk his childhood friend beginning to avoid him.

So he would keep it to himself, like he always did. It wasn't that Shu believed no one could understand him, he just didn't feel strong enough to tell the truth about himself.

"I'll have to go the opposite way from here, my hotel is that-"

"Wait a second there Lelouch-san, just a second. The only hotel there is Skyrise."

"Well, yes." Lelouch suddenly felt like he should have just said anything but confirm it.

"And you are…living there…" Hare trailed off, looking afraid for some reason. Souta put a hand on his shoulder.

"Is there something I should know about it?" Lelouch raised an eyebrow. Souta coughed. "N-nothing."

That night Lelouch ended up converting the door to his suite into a trap that was not very funny as a prank. It wasn't paranoia as long as they actually were out to get you.

* * *

Sorry, for such a late update. Truth be told I just added another paragraph for the post concert part and just decided to upload it, this has been sitting with me since a week after I wrote the second chapter. And I'm still in exams. Bwa ha ha. Review please~ ^.^


	3. Good Deeds Are A Nice Start To Your Day

This chapter is mostly slice of life. Well, I basically started writing fanfiction to write about slice of life, the non-plot related stuff of animes. Rest assured there are many plot-related things in this though. Anyways, Enjoy! ^_^ Thanks to all those who reviewed, I reply to each review (unless you're a guest or anon then I can't, I don't reply in chapters because then the word count is deceiving.)

* * *

Tennozu High school was acknowledged to be 'green' by WWF's Japanese branch. In fact, behind the club building, which was located behind the imposing main building, was a small forest. And beyond that forest separated by a simple metal fence was a small park rounded off by an artificial rivulet.

It was past midnight when a figure surfaced in said stream of water, gasping for air. She swam with the strength she had left to reach the cemented edge of the park, gasping for air. Her arms were burned, she was still bleeding from the left side of her abdomen which had been grazed by a bullet. It was an understatement to say she was exhausted. Yuzuriha Inori could not decide whether she wanted to sleep, eat, or get to some place safer with a first aid kid.

She was dressed in a black body suit for the purpose of a stealth mission which although successful, had gone wrong. Tied to her back was a small robot which was thankfully waterproof. Tsugumi had used a whole year's worth of pocket-money to build Funell after all.

Inori thought back to the scandalous outfit the little girl had suggested she use for the mission and wondered if it would have left her to walk in public with any decency after nearly being gunned down by an Endlave (which had to be taken out by Ayaka) or being chased by soldiers with guns who had to be put down by Gai.

She felt a pang in her chest when she thought of her leader and comrades, no doubt worried sick about her. The thought of going back to them filled her depleted body with renewed strength and she got up again, ready to walk further.

The void genome had been procured and was now secured inside Funell,

Placing Funell on the ground and tapping it a bit, the robot sparked to life again. Good, she wouldn't have to carry the heavy thing. After walking through the forest for a long time with Funell lighting the way, Inori came by a fence. It had no signs of being electric, and was barely a foot above her head.

'I can climb this.'

"Funell, where are we?" She asked. Her communication assets were disposed of when she jumped in the river and even Funell's tracking beacon was turned off. GHQ had managed to hack into their systems, from what she understood which was why the operation had been compromised. Nonetheless, the tiny robot had a map of Tokyo stored in its internal memory.

The little android projected an image on the grass below, showing her a map. It was a school. She could hide here, rest for a bit and then steal a uniform, perhaps get some bandages too. Tying Funell to her back again she jumped, placed her hands on the top and gracefully landed on the other side, wincing due the wound on her side.

There was an old building, chipped and crumbling in front of her, very different from the rest of the surrounding structures that towered it. There was no lock on the door and she immediately sneaked inside.

There was a computer inside, located beneath a balcony and beaten down sofa next to it. Otherwise spacious, but maybe that was because there was nothing else on the lower floor.

Lowering her guard, Inori exhaled deeply. "We're finally safe for a while, Funell." She spoke as if the device could understand her.

* * *

Waking up at six in the morning each day was not an enjoyable part of Lelouch's student life. However, he had decided to dedicate himself to the rules to a certain extent ever since he had been made a part of the student council.

The official ceremony was the newly appointed student council was scheduled at the end next week. The rest of the student council applicants would be interviewed by the school community and the current president until three days before the ceremony. Arisa had told him that ever since rumors about his appointment spread there had been an increase in the female applicants.

The boy kept wondering why he gained popularity for things beyond his control, whether it was background or his looks on the way to school. He had once asked Souta, the most social of his group on what the school thought of him and was amused and surprised.

He was not related to the Queen, God bless her, nor a prince from England. He did not come to Japan because he couldn't go the school without the reporters following his every move because he was a model and a celebrity. Most certainly he was not here because he was looking to find a girl to marry due to reasons the normal public couldn't comprehend (Lelouch snorted at the thought of people who voiced the women of a country as a reason to visit it during his musings).

But there was even more than that, Souta had told Lelouch much to his shock. Just because he was pale and didn't like to wander in the sun (he was just not an outdoor person) it didn't make him a vampire!

He sighed at the last one as he strolled through the school gates, coming across no students until he reached the classrooms. It was 7AM sharp. His own class was empty. So was the student council room.

Well, the raven-haired teen had time to kill, might as well visit the clubroom. It was stuffy inside the classroom due to Japan's climate and he didn't know how to turn the A/C on.

* * *

There are many unexpected things that happen in life. That's why it's called life, wise men ponder. To Ouma Shu, whatever happened, happened and humans dealt with the consequences of it.

But he had absolutely no idea what to make of his life when he opened the door the clubroom in the morning, hoping to get some homework done in the peaceful atmosphere before classes started.

In front of him stood the girl he had dreams about last night, and it took a full second to register that he was not dreaming; Yuzuriha Inori, in the flesh.

But life has unfathomable turns. Shu could have been run over by a car on the way to school. Someone could have broken into GHQ last night. Someone's door could have been rigged to explode in case of intruders.

Why the hell was the nation's most popular underground singer standing in the middle of his clubroom in her underwear? Shu couldn't help but run scan her body, but by the time his eyes reached her blushing visage again, she was holding a gun to his face.

Their eyes locked. She winced and then he noticed the wound on her body, Maybe he didn't get enough sleep last night or had drunk alcohol that tasted like water for breakfast.

"Don't move." She said icily, eyes never leaving him, shifting slightly towards the sofa and picking up black clothes, letting them hang in front of her body to cover it.

"I-I'm extremely sorry!" Shu bowed, panicking settling in all of a sudden. He had been staring at her like a god damned pervert. "Really sorry! I'll go get a first-aid kit!" And he turned, not even looking at her and rushing out. Inori was silent for a moment before she quickly redressed, her clothes having dried in the time she had taken a nap.

She was hungry, thirsty and completely empty on everything besides willpower which she knew wasn't enough. Inori huffed. She certainly could have done without this embarrassment after waking up.

* * *

"You can turn around now." Inori said, zipping up the dull red gym jersey Shu had brought her. She scrutinized the brunette as he turned towards her, still not looking and scratching his cheek nervously.

She sat down the old sofa with a plop, drinking in long gulps from the water bottle he had brought.

"S-s-so, how did you get that wound, Yuzuriha-san?" He knew her name. Most likely he was a fan and would keep quiet about her to not involve her in any scandals. Inori mentally sighed in relief.

"It's not of your concern." Shu flinched at the flat tone of her soft voice.

"Of course…"

"I will still extend my thanks towards you." Gai had told her to smile more often when expressing gratitude. It felt nice to the other person but it was one command of his Inori failed to comply with.

It was not that she did not feel emotions, she only had trouble expressing them. It was fine when it was on stage because everything was rehearsed but in everyday life it was much simpler if she did not have to act.

"Ah, it was no problem." Shu was barely speaking on an audible level. While he was still thinking of what to say next the door to the club house opened. At the threshold stood Lelouch Lamperouge, visibly shocked fAnd then, a smile spread across his face.

He walked in, raising an eyebrow at the medical kit placed next to the sofa which had become his napping spot. The very sofa on which the girl with the pink hair was sitting.

"Good morning." Inori greeted politely, her face stoic.

"Good morning." Lelouch replied, face betraying nothing after the initial shock, eyes sliding towards Shu who caught his look. His eyes fell on the sheet of cotton used by Shu to often cover the computer with after they left, pushed to one side of the sofa like it had been used as a blanket. Had she slept here overnight?

"What is the meaning of-" Lelouch began but the door slammed open and in rushed two soldiers, clad in full armor and holding small rifles. Inori and Lelouch jumped to their feet, the latter feeling his heart in his throat already.

"Nobody move!" One of them barked. Shu began to shake like a leaf. 'What do I do what do I do?' The thoughts rang out in his mind, fear taking hold of him. He looked away, eyes shut tightly, hoping everything was just a bad dream.

"Place your hands where I can see them!" Lelouch looked at Inori and fought to keep the fear off his face, clenching his jaw. She had a gun in her hand which did not bode well at all. Time seemed to flow ridiculously slowly as Inori began to shift, and it became evident to Lelouch that shots were going to be fired.

His mind scrambled for ideas before hitting one. He would adlib as he went along, there was no time.

"Wait!" Lelouch switched to English, holding up his hands in appeasement. "I think you might be mistaken here. What seems to be the problem?"

The two soldiers hesitated and Lelouch began to see a little hope. The uniforms they were wearing corresponded to no police unit nor was it military garb. It was grey and looked like what the SWAT wore in the USA, but Japan did not have SWAT.

Rather, there was a special unit which had access to military level weaponry under GHQ known as the Anti-Bodies. The anti-body unit was infamous not because of the ruthless methods for crime control but also because they were reserved for cases of extreme emergency.

Japanese people were a prideful nation and did not liked relying on GHQ which had officers who already lorded themselves over their politicians and civilians. The greatest trouble was the legislature; they couldn't get to even see any arrest warrants (many suspected none were issued in majority of the cases) and fair trials for the apparently guilty.

Except in Lelouch's case, he could have a lawyer from abroad. There would be a thorough investigation, something the Anti-bodies who only operated on a need-to-know basis and lynched anyone, friend or foe, aware of sensitive information, would not like.

It was his habit to always watch the news in the morning with a quick look at the paper. If his hunch was right Inori was here the night before but there was no official notice for her arrest. Which meant this was a sensitive case indeed.

"You boys are currently harboring a terrorist. We have orders to take her with us." One of the soldiers said, his voice deep and rough, giving off the impression that he just might make them drop and do twenty pushups before arresting Inori.

Slightly, the girl shifts, her breathing forced to steady, her finger closing in on the trigger, bracing herself for the pain that will be generated from her wound and overcome if she is to live.

"Would you happen to have a warrant?" Lelouch smiled amiably as he watched the movement out of the corner of his eye, afraid that the moment he drops his hands he will be shot. Instead he was offered a gun pointed to his face with two smiles beneath the visors of identical helmets which did not bode well.

"We don't need one, our security cameras showed her on tape in Sephirah Genomics, where no one is allowed." One of them sneered and moved forward, taking out a pair of handcuffs while the other kept his gun trained on the girl.

"Liar." She hissed coldly and swung out the pistol in a semicircular arc, firing twice. The sound reverberated throughout the clubhouse and the soldiers fell to the ground, blood spattering the concrete floor and grass.

Lelouch barely had time to register their deaths that Inori fired again, the bullet shattering through the visor of the soldier nearer to them, followed by blood sliding down his face and pooling on the ground near his mouth.

"He was still alive." She explained, as if it was needed, before pointing the gun towards Lelouch. The clubhouse became cold, and it had nothing to do with it being winter.

The smell of blood was making him nauseated, the bile rising to his throat but at the same time, he understood. Be with terrorist or get killed before you went against.

Lelouch knew he had to compose himself. His schedule for the day had just gone out the window. Nope, vice president will be unable to report for duty today. He sighed, as if the threat of being shot did not faze him at all.

"I would like to be back by recess; do you have any friends you would like to go to?" The shock that registered on her face was the first emotion she had registered since he stepped into the damn place. Then her expression turned more guarded.

"What do you mean?" The gun remained leveled.

"You obviously can't make it on your own in that condition. Besides, I have a feeling I might be useful." Inori's eyes flitted to Shu, who inadvertently stepped back.

"He won't tell anyone, I am positively sure." Despite his stomach plummeting, Lelouch gave a little smile. No, he could not let Shu get into danger. Inori glared coldly.

"And why should I not kill you?" There was a sharp intake of air from both of the boys. Lelouch swallowed. He and Shu needed to be out of sight by the time someone came to check up on the dead grunts.

"Trust me." He turned and moved towards the door. "This is about Japan isn't it? About thwarting the fat, corrupt politicians and bringing down the incorrigible government that is slowly but surely being driven to ruin?" Lelouch turned, any trace of fear removed from his face. Shivers went down his spine, but he knew couldn't go wrong with the usual spiel about the wrongness of authority.

No matter how smart you were to the lead the people, you had to dumb down your motives to make sure even the least intelligent person was ready to fight for you.

"You know of the Funeral Parlour don't you?" The temperature in the room dropped another few degrees with Inori's accusation. The two of them blinked.

Funeral Parlour; the most prominent terrorist group in Japan. They called themselves an underground resistance, threatened and bombed GHQ whenever the government caused public dissent in general. People who would strike you as an "Ally of Justice" type of vigilantes making them popular with the young crowd.

But it meant the rumors were true about all the subliminal messages in EGOIST'S songs and they did truly support the Parlour. Shu, who had not been able to utter a single word felt extremely nauseated.

Yuzuriha Inori is a criminal. The girl he likes would take hostage his mother and demand something like a few billion yen. The girl he likes is a freaking terrorist.

"Yes, they dress in black and sleep inside coffins." Lelouch scoffed, as if he didn't find his own joke funny but couldn't help but make it. "Look, do you need to get out of here or not?" He threw annoyance into the mix of emotions to further hide just how near he was to soiling his pants; there is a distinct brand of fear that only those who are aware of how cushy their lives have been can taste, something Lelouch tasted at the moment.

'Put the gun down, put it down…' Lelouch repeated like a mantra. Long seconds ticked by and finally, the girl lowered her arm. Spinning the weapon as she rotated her finger inside the trigger guard she threw it towards Lelouch with a "Catch." And out of reflex he caught the weapon.

As the mere sight of the metal made Lelouch's stomach churn Inori walked over to the other soldier and frisked him, stealing his secondary firearm. Realizing there were corpses on the floor Shu got up shakily, his mind hazy with fear yet an important piece of information making its way through.

"Aren't all security units to have paralyzing bullets?" He spoke in a rush and nearly hitched when Inori turned to look at the source of sudden noise. Lelouch tried to calm himself as the knowledge hit him.

"Not on shoot-on-sight targets." Inori said coldly as she picked up a bag which contained something the other two didn't know. "Keep the gun with you…"

"Lelouch." Brownie point for being helpful to the nice girl with a gun by giving her his real name. She nodded.

"Lelouch, you might need it." Lelouch took off his highly-reputed and instantly recognizable jacket and threw it to the couch as they walked to the door and before they exited Inori turned one last time. A Tennozu student playing hooky would make headlines off the papers.

"Thanks for the first-aid, Shu." She spoke blatantly informally, but didn't think much about it. After all, if people do you a favor and ask nothing in return, they can be good people. Personally, Inori doubted the fan…boy should she say, had any malign intentions.

Though she couldn't help but wonder why everything Tsugumi told her about boys was turning out to be all wrong.

* * *

The first time he hacked a website, Lelouch was twelve years old. When he was fifteen, he could loop the image of certain underground casinos so no minor playing would show up or ever be recorded, even more so Lelouch vi Britannia, second only to England's Royal Family in terms of wealth.

While those actions would only cause a scandal, an objectively small court trial which would generate a huge fuss on the news the moment his guardian was revealed, it did not compare to uploading a self-made virus with a help of a terrorist into a city's CCTV-network put in place by the police with the consent of the government.

Inori had not expressed the slightest bit of curiosity except telling him to hurry up the hacking process with laconic expressions within the security room of a subway station they had reached by taxi. Once they were done, Lelouch gave her a brief explanation of their tight schedule since the program had to uninstall eventually and remove its traces.

Hurried and slightly panicking, he bought tickets for both them, preferring not to use his student card for the subway since that would send unnecessary information to a database (it did not matter which one when you were dealing with GHQ). There was a slight detour to buy food for Inori who hadn't had anything since last night.

And so they sat on the sparsely populated train due to the time of the day being when people who needed to get to places were at their places, huddled in a corner but not talking. A boy dressed impeccably in a school uniform and a girl in well-stitched gym clothes over a black hoodie gracefully eating a bento, but looking shoddy in comparison.

Then, train began to slow down. Lelouch blinked and started to check the map on his phone as Inori looked out the window behind her.

"This is not on schedule." She glanced sharply towards him, hand inching inside her jacket for her gun. Lelouch merely turned and gave her a look that said she didn't need to tell him.

Did he sell her out somehow? Does she take him hostage? The other people in the carriage were not any more vigilant than average, a weary business who had worked at night, a couple of females that were probably on the way home from party, a mixed group of youths with prep books in their laps, their heads bent.

Without her hood she was far too conspicuous, Lelouch looked outside to see forms in matching clothes awaiting them ahead. Was her hair color natural? If it were not for the fact that his own eyes were purple Lelouch would never have asked himself that.

"You should take a hostage." Lelouch whispered suddenly, an idea striking him. Seconds later he felt a metallic poke in his side and hissed.

"Not me you idiot! The train driver! Make sure he doesn't trigger anything or the system will lock itself and we'll halt in no time flat." Lelouch gritted his teeth as Inori's lips formed an "O". The girl got up with a lithe movement and exited the cabin, picking up her backpack.

Lelouch gritted his teeth as the soldiers not unlike the ones that stormed the school stood waiting at the platform came into view. The train slowed down even more. Had she failed? She was heavily wounded. Just as Lelouch began to fear the worst, the train picked up its' pace, accelerating with breakneck spee

In the control room Inori kept watchful eye on the guard as Funell pushed the train beyond intended capacities. There was no need to keep the android shut off since GHQ was already on her trail.

Lelouch leaned back and sighed. He waited a few moments for Inori to rejoin him but her intentions became evident as they passed by a station they should have stopped at. Lelouch made a show of looking out despairingly for any witnesses. The perfect excuse to skipping to the piloting room; they had missed his stop, though he knew the terrorist intended to charge until their personal motives were achieved.

He reached the metallic door in a nearly empty cabin, and knocked.

"Excuse me, you missed my stop." The door slid open and he walked inside and no one was the wiser as to exactly what was going on. The door quickly slid close behind him as Lelouch sighted the slumped conductor.

He rushed to take his pulse but the girl grabbed his arm in a strong grip not befitting her frame. "He's only unconscious." The teen exhaled in relief.

"Do you think I'm heartless?" Was that annoyance he was hearing in that dull voice? It still had no trace of the emotion she had when she sang, but it was a bit more

"Do you?" Lelouch retorted with a smirk.

"I don't know." Inori mumbled and bent down to pat Funell. Lelouch stared at her quizzically. The robot was what she had been carrying this entire time? Why had they not utilized it earlier rather than using his competent but by no means great hacking skills?

Funell transmitted its own frequency which allowed its creator – Tsugumi – to know where it was. Unfortunately all their communication had been compromised during last night's operation and it was definitely wiser to use the robot with economy, because the creator of majority of the Funeral Parlour's devices which failed last night was also Tsugumi.

"Change of plans, we'll exit here." Inori said as outer Tokyo came into view, but still quite far.

Outer Tokyo, a scarcely populated area occupied by those who refused to sign agree with pretty much everything, but found it a much more noble notion to not agree with GHQ. The area could have been dealt with within a week using Endlaves if not for the officers of GHQ taking advantage of the illegal activities that took place there, the exchange of drugs, smuggled antiques, ancient alcohols and the red light district.

On the other end of this area, more dysfunctional and nearly abandoned was where EGOIST held their concerts.

"Where here?" Lelouch asked confused. There was no station in sight, just a view that hid a more depressing view which Lelouch knew. The grassy hill swayed gently as it sloped down to a river passing beneath a bridge, the sun reflecting off the water with the sky ever so blue outside the conductor window.

Next thing he knew the door slid open. And the train began to gradually slow its' fast pace.

"This is a part of our territory. Funell's been activated once, so we can count on them for sure to reach us here." Lelouch opened a map on his cellular network and that true to her words, he found the intercity police stations away from the hills they were on. And was it just him but did nearly every place besides a river had a grassy hill?

It was towards very cliché scenery Lelouch found himself being propelled, complete it would have been with the evening sun and students on their way home as one would find in many animes. But moments later Inori followed and they both lay still after rolling from the inertia, careful to let the train pass away and not catch the attention of any passengers.

"What…just happened." Lelouch said, already feeling sore. Besides him Inori got up and inspected her robot.

"The most basic of maneuvers, it pays to learn to jump off moving objects."

"I'll take note just in case I aspire to be a terrorist one day. Is there a university for that?" Lelouch grumbled as he stood on his two feet again. "Does the Funeral Parlour offer Masters in delinquency, weaponry and hand-to-hand combat?"

Inori huffed at the smart aleck and began to walk away. Why did she take him off the train with her? It was because she felt indebted and he being arrested at the next station was not a way to show her gratitude.

"Hurry up before any other trains show up." She said beginning to hop down the hill and breaking into a jog with Lelouch managing to keep up with a wounded girl. They reached the bridge in a few minutes and slipped out of sight within its concave underside.

The good part about recruiting belligerent officers was that they did their job for personal amusement and did not bother to perform smaller tasks like patrols outside of population zones where they'd stay out of causing trouble, because everyone wanted to join in on the fun. This made it a practical breeze to navigate through underground sites if you were skilled enough to not tip off the authorities or set a precedent by being captured.

That was precisely what the Funeral Parlour did and Lelouch could barely hold his surprised as a small vessel surfaced in the shallow river beneath the bridge. It appeared to be completely like a miniature submarine, about the length of a car. Completely black and offering no view of its components it appeared more like a shadow, until there was the sound of something sliding open.

Only then did a man appear outside, long blond hair and steely blue eyes. The moment they met amethyst ones tension in the air became tangible, of two personalities sharing the same trait behind those reflective orbs that linked the view of the world to minds that could fathom most of its reality, albeit one was not as polished and hence more arrogant.

"Inori." Tsutsugami Gai said softly looking at her. Then his view shifted and his eyes bore into the teenager who did not even flinch at the sight of him, the mastermind of the greatest criminal organization in Japan.

"Gai, is she safe?" Tsugumi spoke over his earpiece, her voice groggy. She had been refusing sleep, food and rest since the moment they lost contact with the pink-haired girl. The moment Funell's signal showed up for a few seconds she made quick work of tracking her location and telling Gai, who was always ready.

"Hello." Lelouch said. "How much for a ticket? I need to get to school." Gai smiled at Lelouch as if he was looking at a toddler. Inori coughed into her hand.

"It would be nice if we could drop him off." Now it was Gai's turn to appear surprised. "He helped me…quite a bit." It would have been nearly impossible without his quick thinking and hacking, but Inori didn't want to increase his already inflated ego. Turning to Lelouch, Inori said,

"There's a river that runs behind a your school with a forest between them. It's day so you don't have to worry about any animals, and all you need to do is climb a fence and you'll get into your clubhouse."

"Is it that convenient to infiltrate a school with the most political and industrial ties?" Lelouch asked, his face turning serious, mirroring the look on Gai's face.

"You're not talking about Tennozu high are you?" There was an old university building behind the school that had been refurbished to provide settlements for various clubs and a small forest planted by the students themselves, the operation spearheaded by the Environmental Conservation Club. The event had been published in the media as another example of their exemplarity.

Lelouch nodded and leaned against the wall behind him. While the tiny water vehicle was very intriguing the issue at hand was far graver.

"The fence was not electrical, the cameras were widely spaced." Inori provided and a small hypothesis formed in Lelouch's mind, but he kept silent.

"Well, either way, the earlier I get back the better." He would check it out later, but for now a fascinating piece of technology awaited him. Gai sighed before nodding.

"Oh, and sorry about this, but can't have you knowing about our toys." With that Lelouch felt a sharp chop to his neck from behind and various four letter words in crossed his mind as it faded to oblivion.

* * *

When Lelouch came to he found himself leaning against something cold and sectioned, like a net. Instantly he stood up at the sight of trees and grass in front of him.

"Damn it." So they had dropped him off, surveyed the area for their own liking, and didn't even let him get a peep of their submarine-like contraption. With half the mind to call the Anti-Bodies on them Lelouch started climbing up the fence. Due to his height it wasn't much of a challenge and he was surprised at how easy someone like him broke into his school.

A quick look here and there revealed that this was the only part of the fence left so unguarded for there were yellow triangular signs with lightning bolts on them attached to the other parts of the fence, with a thick sheet of tempered glass a feet away from it and providing a barrier just in case any student came close.

The vice president sighed, another thing added to his ever delayed agenda for the day. He went to the club house to get his jacket, took a small trip to the bathroom to fresh up and primp himself before reaching the student council room, not bothering to go into class.

It wasn't like they would kick him out from lack of attendance; he was a part of a student council and that ensured a little bit of laxity in terms of his presence in classrooms unless exams were nearing.

"Welcome." Arisa Kohouin said as Lelouch entered without knocking, her back to him. "And just where were you? I've been waiting for you since the first period."

It was nearing ten thirty, which meant about four periods had passed. No one besides Shu knew he had already arrived at school before so…

"I'm sorry. I'm not so good at reading Japanese so I accidentally got on the wrong train." Lelouch said with a slight bow. "It won't happen again, President." She turned around, annoyance clear on her face.

"I guess I can't hand you the paperwork if your Japanese is that bad that you can't read at the train station." Clearly she wasn't buying it.

"I have been trying to increase my vocabulary so I accidentally misread the words. I apologize once again." No tremor in his voice, sincerity in his pose. Well, she was expecting too much from him anyway.

"Apology accepted, but let this be the last time you get on the wrong train. We've got a long day ahead."

And so it was. Since the rest of the student council had to be properly inducted yet, they were attending their classes dutifully and Arisa did not call them. Lelouch on the other hand was left to deal with paperwork that had already flooded her regarding the demands of the old clubs, budget for recruitments, an organization of an event that would allow club members to showcase their talents, etc-

If often happened that people sent applications for ridiculous clubs or added suspicious details to their budgets for which the student council was questionable. There was also the matter of media coverage which was quite common and hiring of extra security, for which Lelouch would have to accompany Arisa later on.

"The other members, as well as the rest of the school know I pushed for your selection. You may not want to do it on your own but pretend that you did. I did not ask you do anything alright?" Arisa smiled innocently. "You just saw these on my desk and thought it would be helpful to sort these out. Later, vice president. Work hard."

Lelouch, for the umpteenth time, sighed. All he wanted to do was put his head on the stack of papers and sleep. So much had happened in so little time, yet all he could now do was to stay at school and lay low unless he wanted GHQ after him.

He had helped a terrorist escape first thing in the morning. And now, with no signs of any bodies in the club house or the blood he would have to alter the student log for the day to up the time he and Shu arrived at school. Speaking of Ouma...he would be dealt with later.

"Well, good deeds should be performed early in the day." Lelouch said as he got to work.

* * *

Well, how was it? Leave a review please. There wasn't much action in this, mostly subtle hints at various plots that are about to unfold. I should say if you're interested in the void genome and getting on the anime story line you'll have to wait a bit, since the Geass does not exist in this AU, the characters need building because I can't make this a Lelouch-can-command-stuff-and-go-solo-fic. Oh, and Inori's personality is different. Rest assured, her banter with Lelouch isn't fluff, just trying to show how normal this Lelouch is currently compared to his Zero persona and making her more normal because if you've read any light novel it's like authors are too lazy to come up with anything besides laconic yet beautiful heroines. I'm updating in the middle of exams so I apologize, you'll have to wait after 6th November before I start writing again. Don't panic if you see SAT words after that please ^_^ Stay frosty~

And review ;A;


	4. Sometimes Evil Pretends to Be Stupid

Hello, an update. I know. Too damn long. Much of this chapter was already written beforehand, for months actually, but as you will figure out as you read it, this is basically where all the plot starts from in multiple directions. I tried to keep it simple as possible since adding any more complexities seemed plain foolish. Without further ado, enjoy! (And forgive me, I didn't even know I had so many people putting this on alert and favorites! Thank you!)

* * *

The city planning to make Tokyo beautiful involved the utilization of many canals and water-ways, it was no wonder that a stream was found nearby nearly every park and the many bridges located inside the redesigned and rebuilt city. But those same channels were utilized by the Funeral Parlour for mobility in creative ways to slip past security.

Going out on student council tasks also gave time Lelouch to be able to study the city in hopes of finding out just where the Funeral Parlour was hiding. He did not wish to report them; the organization intrigued him and he wished to satisfy his curiosity. There were rumors about them on the internet and of course quite a list of remarks about GHQ that never surfaced on media.

Something was going on and it was bigger and closer to them any other hatched conspiracy theory Lelouch had come across.

* * *

Entering the Funeral Parlour's main headquarters was always a surprise. Beneath the surface was hollowed out caverns with amazing ventilation. There were dorms for an organization that was nearly a small army with members of varying age, from children to old people, barely a hundred. They had different backgrounds, excelled in different fields, had their own differences from appearance to opinion to religion, but they had one thing in common.

They all believed in Tsutsugami Gai. They were all politically aware people who had great disdain for the United Nations and held contempt for foreigners, a small resistance force that was mostly against police brutality hoping to bag a few politicians in before the blonde leader showed up with his small band of misfits and troubling news regarding GHQ and the truth of the apocalypse virus.

The leader of the organization settled into his office, called the Gai Cave by Tsugumi due to the weaponry and uniform on display on a wall, in a pensive mood. Just a plain desk with a map of Tokyo beneath a table glass was all Gai needed, he was on his feet most of the time or training. The only door was made of see-through glass and anyone could enter no matter what their status, though at the moment it was closed.

Only Gai and a bandaged Inori stood in the office, the male waiting patiently for the female to finish her verbal report before she went off for some much needed rest, processing each and everything with utmost attention. She finally got to the part about the boy, Lelouch, his profile and skills and the moment she thought she was betrayed but he came up with an idea, how she felt it unfair to just leave him on the train.

Gai had no reason to not trust Inori, but she was not someone who usually helped others out. The girl was silent for a moment, gathering her thoughts, thinking of what to say next.

Inori had not done it out of mere impulse. The truth was she was still feeling grateful to the boy she had met at first, the one who brought her the first-aid kit and water yet she couldn't recall his name. And if Lelouch got into trouble it would possibly drag him in, the one with that dyed light brown streak and cute face. Something kept Inori from mentioning him.

"I wish I had known he could hack systems to that extent before I tried to give him a concussion." Gai pinched the bridge of his nose. "But I doubt a rich brat used to a cushy lifestyle would be loyal." At least a girl as pretty as Inori kept his interest to keep her safe, Gai tried to think but something about the youth had just rubbed him the wrong way. It was a good call to bug his phone.

"Sorry." Inori looked to her feet.

"Don't be, the whole thing was a mess, but on the bright side there were zero casualties." Gai informed her of the silver lining. "But our inside contacts in Sephirah Genomics had to flee. Overall it was a success so, thank you, Inori." Gai smiled. Was it just his imagination or were her cheeks had the traces of a blush as Inori glanced up.

Any further words she was about to say were lost as the door opened and a tiny form tackled her from behind, careful of her wounds.

"Inoriii!" Tsugumi dragged out her name, sounding a bit muffled as her face was pressed to the pink haired girls' back. "I thought that I had become a widow!" She burst in followed by a dramatic wail.

"S-Since when- just what do you mean Tsugumi?!" Gai nearly jumped.

"Someone who has lost a wife, Gai." Inori said as if she was stating the obvious, pulling the smaller girl out from behind and stroking lustrous black hair softly, causing her to grin.

"Since when?" Gai's eyes widened as he asked, voice slightly trembling.

"He he, jealous?" Tsugumi smirked, seeing the look on her leaders' face, and hugged the taller girl again. Gai turned around and threw his palms on his table for support, seemingly unable to hold himself.

"Tsugumi! What have you been teaching Inori?" A wheelchair rolled in carrying a ticked-off Ayaka. "You can't joke around with our leader like that!"

"A joke? Nonsense, Inori wouldn't…" Gai turned around to find Inori fighting to keep a smile off her face, the corner of her lips twitching and her eyes refusing to make contact with his. "For the love of God, just what did you do to her Tsugumi?" Internally Gai felt joyous at Inori finally opening up a bit for the first time since he met her with others.

"Ara~ I fell in love with her~" Tsugumi chattered, though the statement didn't make as much impact since everyone in the room now knew Inori was playing along.

"But we never got married." Inori said, gently easing out of her hold. "So you wouldn't be a widow either way." It was lively and the mood was definitely better on the base most of the time due to Tsugumi and her antics, not to mention there was nothing Gai could do to punish her for being her weird self, even if it was influencing Inori.

"Cut it out." Gai said but he was unable to keep the smile of his face as he crossed his arms.

"Why, do you like Inori, Gai?" Tsugumi asked innocently, latching on to her arm once more, not that the pink haired girl minded. Inori's patience was commendable, never once having lost it ever since she joined the group.

"Don't be ridiculous." It was Ayaka who interjected, her own cheeks becoming slightly tinged. Tsugumi opened her mouth to say something but Gai cleared his throat loudly, quickly sensing her retort. The hacker stopped, but flashed a knowing smile at the leader instead.

"Inori, you're done. Go and rest. Now, why did you come here, Tsugumi?" The pink-haired girl bowed and took her leave quickly, although interested in what the girl wearing cat ears had to say. Ayaka also followed her out.

"I bet you're starved, even if you've eaten once. Want to hit the kitchen again?" The wheelchair-bound Endlave pilot suggested.

"Yes." Inori replied curtly but with a small smile. She was hungry and a light snack before hitting the sack would do her good.

* * *

Lelouch seemed like he was having a fun time. By fun the definition referred to him sitting back on the couch and listening to his friends singing a variety of genres of music popular in Japan from rock to pop to idol songs. Upon insistence he had even sang a bit before ordering eatables, mostly fast food. As much as the offers he had gotten from the people at school to come and hang out with them instead (probably somewhere they could show off their black, platinum credit cards) Lelouch opted for hanging people he expected less to have ulterior motives.

It did sort of surprise him how sometimes the Japanese were unaware of his status as heir to Britannica Industries, the brand's products all imported, no branch existed in Japan yet, costing too much due to the economy.

Shu had remained mildly uncomfortable since the mood was too cheery for songs of his choice. He was also slightly anxious about ordering the food and adding his contribution to pay for Lelouch's treat, deciding not to just hand the money to Hare beforehand like he usually did. He had to change his habits and if there ever was a time to change himself, it had to be now.

He sipped his tin of coke slowly, trying not to shiver as he recalled the events of that day for what seemed like the thousandth time. The nausea he could hold down over the dead bodies he and blood he to walk by but his chest still ached every time he thought of his own weakness.

The most strange and perhaps dangerous part was that the Film Maker Club's building was clear of all evidence of any altercation taking place. Since Shu had gotten away as soon as Lelouch and Inori had left, neither of them knew at what time it was swept clean.

He wanted to protect. Yet Ouma Shu ran and had to be protected.

He wanted to be stronger. Yet everyday he grew weaker.

Shu noticed Hare looking at him, he being quiet all of a sudden and smiled, hoping it wasn't forced. He had a tiny idea of how she felt regarding himself, but never asked if she liked him. What would he say in return, that he was in love with someone he had only seen twice outside of a screen? Or maybe her feelings were completely platonic and the brunette was constantly looking out for him, in which he was he was even less sure what to think of their friendship with him burdening her all the time.

"Guys, I'll have to leave early. Haruka is coming home today so I need to be there." Shu said, getting up and taking his school coat. He had made some small talk with Lelouch, discussed the project with Souta until the other boy started up the music and discussed songs with Hare while waiting for his turn to sing. Enough socialization for a week if he considered his usual self.

"Okay then." Hare spoke first.

"Aw man, we were gonna hit the arcades next, show Lamperouge-kun the pinnacle of Japanese technology!" Souta complained, as if his company which had mostly been ignored by him was going to make any difference at the next destination.

"See you at school tomorrow." Lelouch said, not asking who Haruka was, assuming her to be his older sister. Shu guessed that he'd explain tomorrow, at least with Lelouch he could have one on one conversation since Hare and Souta were surrounded by others at their classes and he only served to make things awkward.

"Yeah." Shu took his leave, putting in his headphones and putting on EGOIST on the way back home. He reached home, frowning as he unlocked the door and found a note on the fridge.

'_Shu, sorry but I only had a little time to come home today. I cooked dishes for you and they're in the fridge, not that you can't cook yourself but I like to do something for my son I rarely see once in a while._' It read and the boy felt like a jerk, guilt seizing his heart like a fist.

"What the hell." He swore as he plopped down on his bed. His usual habit was to come home and lie down on his bed, do some half-assed homework later on, eat if he could get an appetite and try to get his mind off unnecessary thoughts by whatever means he could. Usually exercising randomly did the trick, exhausting both his mind and body so he could get some sleep. The slight muscle he was gaining due to pushups and crunches was a plus.

But sleep itself was a monster, waking him up so weary and in disarray due to nightmares.

Blood. Gunshots. But he was the killer. Even if they were facing off murderers, it didn't sit right with him. Does facing down a monster mean you give up your humanity to win? Where is the victory in that? Shu wondered, staring at the ceiling, soaked in sweat despite the air conditioning.

He got up wearily, shivering for he was feeling even colder due to his wet skin and turned on the lights. Instead of cup ramen Shu heartily helped himself to Haruka's cooking. Recently she had acquired a taste for western food so he was not surprised to find a subway sandwich in the fridge.

Shu set it on the glass table in the lounge and turned the TV on simply to have some noise in the empty house. "Itadakimasu." He offered a perfunctory prayer before he bit in and glanced at his meal with a hollow look.

"Does this thing even have any taste?" Shu muttered, not even hungry though he knew his body needed it. It was hard to swallow when he wasn't even bothering to chew it properly. "Damn it."

Not a single damn thing was right. The illusion that had been making each day bearable was shattered. Shu slumped backwards. Just another ordinary day. His phone lit up next to his plate on the table.

"Who…?" Shu muttered as he took another bite of something that was edible. In an instant he was up and the door, opening it to see a boy taller than him.

"Yo!" Yahiro waved, dressed in a long brown overcoat. "I got into a bit of trouble. Mind if I come in?"

"You might as well, why text me to ask if I'm alone when you were already at the door?" Shu's tone was dry, slipping back into the character of a lazy friend who didn't like socializing much. "What's with the coat?"

"I was selling drugs." Yahiro said casually as he took it off and tossed it on a sofa.

"Give me some too." Shu cracked a small grin. Sarcasm was something Yahiro only used with him, who had been abroad. Normal people from Japan, say Hare of Souta would have jumped and started telling him to stop doing bad things.

"Sorry, I'm all out."

"I sure could have used some." That was a bit closer to the truth than he had been thinking.

"I'll keep that in mind when my next batch comes. Love problems?" Shu stiffened at that and Yahiro stopped short. "Oh man, don't tell me _you_ got a girlfriend before me?"

"I didn't, just a celebrity crush." Shu went back to his sandwich. "You can get whatever you want from the fridge." At least Yahiro didn't bug him when he didn't have enough energy to properly follow manners, like serving him tea or something else.

"Oh, who?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Sure. Got any new video games?" And that was the good thing about Yahiro, he didn't pry into Shu's problems like Souta might have, or have that slightly suffocating air of reliability to show he was there if Shu needed to talk like Hare. And unlike him Yahiro was on a scholarship with a tight study schedule so Shu didn't meet him as often as the others.

"Just the typical first person shooters." Shu wasn't passionate about gaming as some would be, all he would do was play it out for the story and then punch in cheats to make PVP entertaining in case someone came over.

"Better than nothing." Yahiro walked to the fridge. "Set it up, will you?" Shu got up without a word. At least tonight would only be half as boring.

* * *

Gai found Shibungi anxiously pacing his office, looking absolutely worried as he entered, his white coat that contrasted with everyone crinkled and worn and dark bags under his eyes. The other man turned to greet him curtly and the leader of Funeral Parlour could tell there was good news, but bad news.

"It was the right call to have the Void Genome tested as a precautionary measure." Shibungi began, referring to Gai's orders for them to have their forensic team (small as it was) to calculate the likelihood of the Void Genome accepting Gai's blood.

"And?"

"The Genome completely rejected your blood. That is the only good news I have." The scientist took off his glasses and began to clean a lens with a white tissue as he spoke further. "The Genome we had was incomplete, but had the telomeres fixed. In fact, if handled improperly it was meant to propagate the apocalypse virus."

"What?" Gai hastily locked the door behind him as he moved forward towards his desk. The implications of were already in his mind as his trusted comrade began to provide further details.

"The forensic team has determined what we obtained to be a prototype of the Void Genome, an early version crafted to deceive us. That, along with the fact that our communications were compromised at a critical moment makes me want to believe that our whole operation was known from the start. The question I want to ask is, why?" Shibungi put his glasses back at last, composure regained. He was more afraid of Gai thinking their efforts had been in vain than of the threat of GHQ knowing their plan.

"Inori. They were after her." Gai provided. "Make sure no word of this gets except to my officers. We need an emergency meeting. And see if there is any kind of tracking device snuck inside the genome." He added, remembering Inori's report about soldiers showing up at the train station. As much as he hated to admit it, the schoolboy had done a fine job at his hacking and was now being stalked by his someone he assigned.

A perfectly fine morning ruined. The man clad in the white coat saluted before exiting the office through the only door.

"Oh, and prepare some coffee!" He called after the scientist.

* * *

It was past seven in the student council office.

Kohouin Arisa held the report in a tight grip, although it did not show. The paper was unwrinkled and without a crease, the only give away her bony, tensed knuckles. There was no mistaking it, and action had to be taken soon for the sake of the school and its image.

Unfortunately, in such a sensitive matter which she had been investigating by herself the last couple of days, never mind the anonymous tip she had received about the hole in the security at the back of the school.

She suspected it was Lelouch who was behind the tip; it had come a day after he had showed up late to school. But the trouble was if even he was involved in this…then the student council president did not know who trust, if even her vice president was guilty.

But it just didn't seem like Lelouch's _style_, to be involved. Taking out her phone, she bit hit lower lip. A moment of hesitation, then she swiped it to unlock, her thumb hovering over the call button.

She pressed it.

There was only a short pause as it rang.

"Hello, president?" Lelouch's sounded tired.

"We have a situation." Arisa said. _Too late to back out now._

* * *

Cut! Some readers may know this, but this is actually a rehash of the story. The chapters before this one required a few changes, but this one borrows nothing at all from the last chapter four which involved Ouma and Lelouch interacting and was totally slice of life.

Also, review! Reviews are love.

P.S. Yes I am in exams how else can a writer find time to write.


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